Conclusion: Tibet’s Next Incarnation

Abstract

In this book I have attempted to understand Tibetan self-immolation as fully as possible and to provide an account that allows us to understand the movement as Tibetans might understand it themselves. It is likely that there will be a few more political suicides, but it would seem that the main movement is over. The point has been made, and more bodies will not make it more strongly. At the risk of seeming to encourage acts that have variously been called “drastic,” “desperate,” “courageous,” “traitorous,” and so forth, I would have to say that it is at the very least fair to attempt to understand speakers who have given everything, and in as painful a way as one can imagine. It is entirely possible that the movement will resume—conflagrations are often unpredictable—but hopefully Tibetan speakers will find other ways to make themselves heard.